A bit about music, a bit about life and a bit about my thoughts.

Main menu

Category Archives: Dogs

Post navigation

Several times a day, MissyLu and various squirrels have a run in the yard. At this point, the squirrels know she is coming and MissyLu has her chase routine down pat.

MissyLu’s intended victim..squirrel eating seeds

Yesterday, I saw the squirrel and knew Missy was in the yard and wondered why the squirrel was still eating a quiet breakfast. Missy was watching and moving slowly across the deck. She was doing a hog version of stalking….moving slowly and quietly.

Quietly stalking dog

And then the squirrel heard and was up the tree with Missy chasing.

Squirrel, i see you ….

Squirrel, i still see you…

As the squirrel goes from tree to tree MissyLu follows until the squirrel leaves the yard leaping from tree to tree. Then, MissyLu secures the yard perimeter. A job well done….until

I’m back….

When I got MissyLu, I was told that she was a quiet dog who never barked. MissyLu has found her voice both inside and outside our home.

On May 8, 2015, I put my animal companion, Bonnie, to sleep. She had been by my side for over 15 years. In 2014 her health began to fail. The failures were slow at first and by the beginning of 2015 the failures were obvious. She could no longer jump up on the bed. She began to have more accidents in the house. I have been feeding her a special diet since 2006 because of her digestive problems. She was no longer eating well. In February 2015 I took her to the vet and the vet told me that I would know the time when I would have to stop her pain.

I was still seeing the very young dog in my mind that was living with me years ago.

Bonnie on the run, 2004

I took her for her last walk in the park before going to the vet. On the way home, I thought no more dogs. I spent the afternoon cleaning the house of doggy paraphernalia. I vacuumed and tidied up to make sure there were no signs of a dog. I no longer had to cook a special diet. I didn’t have to run some places to be home to make sure she was OK. I was more or less free of responsibilities for anyone other than myself.

I slept in the morning and stayed out later at night. After a while I realized that sleeping later in the morning was because it was hard to get out of bed in the morning. The summer of my freedom was the most depressing summer I’ve ever had. I was able to visit my son out of state with more ease. I spent more time cooking for myself that I did for the dog. And the freedom wasn’t as great as I thought it would be.

In August, the owner of the kennel, Stacy where I usually boarded Bonnie called to ask if Bonnie was OK since she hadn’t heard from me. I gave her my sad news about Bonnie. She had known Bonnie since Bonnie was a puppy and she was genuinely sad.

In early September, Stacy called me and said she knew of a dog that needed a home. The original owner had to go to assisted living. Her son took the dog but did not like the dog and renamed the dog Oscar. The dogs’real name was MissyLu. I hadn’t planned on another dog but my life without a dog was not very happy. I agreed to go take a look at this dog. So I went to a home in another suburb to take a look at MissyLu. She was a quiet, sweet senior dog. The people who had her said their infant grandchild made her nervous.

After looking at her papers I realized she was 11. I thought I may have gotten something I really hadn’t planned on. MissyLu turned out to be a real surprise. She is not your average 11-year-old dog.

Missy Lu Sept 2015

She reminded me of my first dog, Holly.

Holly and Marsha 1950s

Missy Lou is all terrier. I took her home and she made her self quite at ease. We both adapted very quickly. She loves my backyard and all the squirrels.

Yesterday I decided to walk my dog a different route in my neighborhood. It’s late Spring and this is the time of year the classic cars come out. The cars are in garages or storage all winter. Driving around you can see so many classics. And since I am driving, I can’t get any pictures except at the Woodward Dream Cruise in August when they all come out to drive on one street all day.

I was lucky to see this one in “cherry” condition on a street near me. The dog did not care one bit

Yesterday I dutifully went to the park to walk my dog. She wasn’t having it. She had ideas of her own. The walk is a little over a mile and it started out well.

We started along the path on a beautiful sunny day. On weekdays,the park is relatively empty and there were very few dogs. So Bonnie(the dog) decided to look for other entertainment. After attempting to chase squirrels, she realized being on a leash did not facilitate chasing squirrels. So, she decided to checkout the stream. I went along for the ride.

I decided not to walk across the stream on the log. Bonnie was disappointed. But, never mind, there were other areas to explore.

We heard ducks here and never saw them. From the pile of old logs in the stream, I though there might be some animals in there. Bonnie looked for the ducks. Some times, she held her nose in the air sniffing all the new and different smells in the park.
I was tired after the loop and Bonnie wanted to continue. This may be an ongoing theme. The vet told me to take her for more walks to relieve her arthritis and she is getting better each day.

Yesterday I decided to take a walk in the park with my 14 and 1/2 year old dog, Bonnie. It was a beautiful sunny day. I usually walk Bonnie in the neighborhood and it was not energizing her this year as it had in past years.

The path in the park is between one and two miles. There is a enclosed playground with many children. There are grills and picnic tables. A stream wends its way through the park. For the most part, the path follows the stream.

It was a joyful walk. Bonnie tried to run after squirrels. When she went down to the stream, it reminded me of a former dog who would give me a fish eye before trying to dive in the stream. She made it once into the stream. Bonnie perked up at the sight of other dogs, runners and joggers. We socialized with several dogs and their owners. Bonnie loves to meet and greet other dogs. By the time I ended the walk she was strutting her stuff again. I was tired.

I haven’t posted for quite a while for various reasons and hope I’m back.

This winter in Detroit has been brutally cold and we have almost reached the all time record for snow. The Spring is much colder than usual so we may pass the record of 91.7 inches. We only have 1.9 inches to go. It was too much for my car that had two major repairs. I just got another car and retired my faithful older car with 175,416 Miles

This kind of weather means a lot of little things. I had to shovel a poop path for my small elderly dog at least a couple of times a week. When she came in from the cold, she walked stiffly on her arthritic legs. She is beginning to get her Spring legs. In the bright sun, even her dimming eyes can see the squirrels in the yard. This last winter, the squirrels began to bury nuts in the snow. With the snow gone, my backyard is littered with nuts and squirrels. My dog, Bonnie, is chasing the squirrels again and getting faster every day.